El Sisi says he hopes global crisis ends soon: “I hope that the current global crisis driving oil prices up near USD 120 a barrel end soon, so that oil prices do not increase further,” President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said in a televised speech to mark mothers’ day (watch, runtime: 41:30). The Russia-Ukraine war has sent commodity and oil prices spiraling over the past month, with oil reaching levels far beyond the USD 65 assumed in this fiscal year’s budget. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly directed his government to “restructure” the draft FY 2022-2023 budget. Al Hayah Al Youm also aired the speech (watch, runtime 41:25) while Masaa DMC (watch, runtime 1:23) gave it coverage.

Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad made an appearance on our airwaves last night to talk about the potential IMF program (more details in our Economy section above).

Egypt’s request for IMF support does not mean that we’re facing a major crisis, he said in a phone-in with Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime 17:01). The situation is a lot better than it was in 2016, he added. The goal is to maintain the economic growth and development rates we have achieved since then, Saad added.